Protesters demonstrate outside a Walmart store in Chicago on Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day in the US.
US labor groups and businesses will clash on Black Friday, often regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, as union organizers back up Walmart workers protesting for higher wages.
Activists say support for the demonstrations has grown compared to last year, estimating roughly 1,500 protests will be held across the country on the busiest shopping day of the year. Critics have sought to downplay the protests, citing the heavy union involvement behind the events, in which few of the retail giant�™s employees will participate.
Nov. 29 will also be a test for worker centers – nonprofit allies of unions – that are behind the effort to target the nation�™s largest private employer. United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) has become the hub for the protests, which have been going on throughout the year and picking up steam this week, leading up to Black Friday.
Cindy Murray, a founding member of OUR Walmart, said the group wants the company, which reported $17 billion in profits last year, to pay higher wages to its store employees.
�œStep up to the plate and let these people live the American Dream,” said Murray, a 14-year Walmart associate at the company’s Laurel, Md., outlet. �œWhat we really want is to have Walmart join hands with us.”
Walmart has long been a target of unions as a source for potential organizing, given the retailer�™s significant impact on the economy. Consequently, group’s demand for higher wages has received union backing.
�œIf we can change Walmart, we can change the country,” said Pat O�™Neill, organizing director for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). �œIf Walmart came out tomorrow and said that they were going to pay their workers more, that would have a big impact.”
Worker centers like OUR Walmart have become the leading edge for unions this year, organizing many of the strikes and walkouts at retailers and fast-food restaurants. That has triggered a backlash from business groups that are trying to stay one step ahead of unions.
�œThey have been caught off guard by these campaigns by worker centers so they are trying to attack and find the groups�™ vulnerabilities,” said Dorian Warren, a Columbia University professor who specializes in labor politics. The Hill
AHT/ARA
Source: Press TV